Mincemeat bread and butter pud, yummy! Can recommend.

I made this recipe at a recent Aga Cookery workshop and it was delicious and very easy to make too. All the ladies enjoyed the discovering of the magic of The AGA, and for the L-plated aga owners we tried to take away the mysteries and keep is simple!  My kitchen was filled with fun and laughter as Olivia and I, a demon duo, full of cookery tips and culinery skills attempted to cook, talk, demonstate and answer the many questions.

Mincemeat bread and butter pudding

Oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/Gas Mark 4.

Aga- bottom shelf of top oven with cold shelf, take shelp away for the last 5 minutes.

Use a shallow dish so that you get maximum crunchy top. It rises like a souffle, so serve it at once straight from the oven. Very yummy!

• 50g (2 oz) ready-to-eat dried apricots chopped, soak in 2 tbsp brandy or rum
• 12 thin slices white bread, buttered
• jar of mincemeat
• 50g (2 oz) caster sugar
• 3/4 large eggs
• 300ml (½ pint) double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150ml (¼ pint) milk
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar

Well-butter a 28cm (11in) fairly shallow round china ovenproof dish.

Make sandwiches of the bread using the mincemeat, but don't fill right to the edges because these are trimmed off. Cut off the crusts and cut each sandwich diagonally into four, butter top. Arrange the sandwich triangles across the dish, slightly overlapping.

Beat together the caster sugar, eggs, cream and vanilla extract. Stir in the milk.

Scatter the apricots over the bread. Gradually pour over the cream mixture, making sure all the bread is coated. Best if you can leave the pudding to stand for 30-60 minutes (to allow the bread to absorb the liquid, so it becomes light and crisp during cooking, rising like a souffle!). If you have no time, don't worry - you can still bake it straight away.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top of the pudding, and bake for about 40 minutes until well-risen, crisp and golden. Serve immedialatey with creme fraiche or cream.